“Well, that’s the oddest thing you’ve said in a long time.”
“True,” he said with a laugh. “Their magic and talents are a bit darker, the closer you get to the royals. So their magic leads to gaining power. Some can steal energy. Some can create disease. It all depends on where they come from and how their family came into power.”
“I don’t think I like the sound of that.” She looked down at her hands, wondering what blood ran through her veins. Levi placed his larger hand over her smaller one.
“Whatever it is, we’ll deal with it. It’s not going to change who you are because your blood has always been there. Get me?”
“I get you,” she whispered. She just didn’t know if she trusted it. And that hurt more than she wanted to admit.
“What’s wrong?”
She blinked up at him. “What?”
“Whenever we talk about a certain subject—like you believing in my words—your mind goes to a place that makes you sad.” He cupped her face, running his thumb along her cheekbone. “Tell me. Tell me why you’re holding yourself back.”
She let out a breath, knowing he deserved the truth. He deserved so much more. “I…I don’t trust men.”
He nodded, pain in his gaze, but he didn’t say anything.
“They’ve either cheated on me or left me when they figured out I wasn’t enough for them.”
“Faith, they were idiots.”
“That I know, but I never had good taste.” She winced. “We’re leaving you out of this, okay? Just so I can finish.”
“For now.”
“For now,” she agreed then let out a breath. “So you know I’m really good with knives, right?”
He blinked twice then frowned. “I’m a little worried about how this goes with why you don’t trust men, but yes, I know. Continue.”
She winced. “I don’t cut them or anything. Crap. Okay, so my dad taught me how to use a blade to protect myself. He was ex-military and a hunter. Very good with a knife. Better than me.”
“And he wanted to teach you to take care of yourself in a dangerous situation. I get that. I’ve taught the girls some defensive magic and will continue to do so.”
She sighed and held on to his wrist. “That’s because you’re a good dad who loves his girls. My dad did it because he didn’t know what to do with me. Plus, he wanted to make sure that he gave me something that was just…us, I guess. You see, he wasn’t always there. In fact, he wasn’t ever there. My mother and I were his side family.”
“What?” Levi leaned forward, but she couldn’t take his comfort. Not when she needed to just get everything out in the open.
“Dad had another family, another set of kids and another wife. Mom was his mistress, though she didn’t know she was at the time. In fact, she thought they were married and Dad just worked a lot. Turned out Dad only came to visit us when he needed a break from wife number one and wanted in my mom’s bed. I was the result of a broken condom.”
There. She’d said it. Not everyone knew where she’d come from or how she’d grown up. It wasn’t anyone’s business. She’d moved on physically from it, and she knew that, even if she’d told herself that she’d moved on emotionally as well, that would be a lie. The mere fact that she was still in bed with Levi and not running away told her she was at least growing somewhat.
Levi let out a growl then leaned forward just a little more. “If I ever hear you refer to yourself as such again, I’ll bend you over my lap and spank you.”
She let out a little groan, and Levi chuckled.
“Or maybe you’d like that too much,” he murmured. “We’ll come back to that later. Thank you for trusting your past with me and know that I will never, never, see you as that man saw you. I will never make you feel that way. I know you don’t trust me yet, and it will take time to not only earn that trust but also overcome where you came from. But I plan on working for a very long time to get there.”
He leaned forward and kissed her. “Okay?”
“Okay,” she whispered, feeling lighter than she had in too long. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, Levi…I think it’s that I don’t trust myself.” This man knew exactly what to say to make her breathe again, and for some reason, she actually felt as though she could trust his words—or her reaction to his words. At least she hoped so.
“Then we’ll work on that too.” He tugged her close, and she fell onto his chest. “Now, how about we say good morning again before we get a start on our day.”
She pulled away with a smile, even as her fingers dug into his skin. “I need to shower and get dressed. As much I want to lounge all day while tangling with you in the sheets, I need to actually earn a living.”
Levi pouted, and Faith had to hold back her laughter.
“You look like an eight-year-old not getting his way.”
“I could start kicking my feet and yelling if it would help,” he said, his eyes dancing with laughter.
“Does that help your kids?”
“Not so much.”
“Didn’t think so.” She pulled away with a sigh and stood by the bed. “Now off to shower.”
When Levi followed her, she narrowed her eyes over her shoulder. “Keep your eyes off my ass, wizard.”
“I can’t help it. It’s speaking to me.”
She froze. “My ass is speaking to you.”
“Yes and I love what it’s saying.”
“You’re a dork. A dork wizard.”
“You like it.”
True, but she wasn’t about to say that. “I’m taking a shower. Why don’t you go make coffee or something?” She continued toward the bathroom but stopped again when she felt Levi following her. “What are you up to?”
He grinned at her then fisted his cock. “Something’s up, and since you were showering, I figured I’d shower with you. Conserve water and all that.”
“You know that’s, like, the oldest excuse in the book, right?” Even as she said it, her pussy clenched. Damn man.
“Okay, if you don’t like that one, how about I want to make sure you get all nice and clean? So I’ll help wash every single inch of you.”
She swallowed hard then turned, making her way back to the bathroom. She put in a little extra sway so her ass moved just the right way. From the strangled sound Levi made, he liked it.
“That’s a better excuse,” she purred. “You know me. I’m very, very dirty.”
He let out a growl, and Faith scurried to the shower, so freaking happy for the first time in her life.
They were lucky they didn’t drown or break something in the shower, but they were sparkling clean and out of hot water. She’d lost count of how many orgasms she had, but that was okay. She’d just start counting again later that night when they went to bed. Or on the couch. Or on the counter. She frowned and looked over her workspace. She was pretty sure her darkroom was the only place they hadn’t made love. Since there were so many chemicals in here, she didn’t want to risk it.
And yes, she thought of it as making love. At this point, they weren’t just fucking. She and Levi were connecting more and more, and it scared the life out of her. However, she’d told herself she would go one day at a time, so that’s what she was going to do.
A soft knock sounded on the door, and she went over to let him in, her attention on her prints rather than Levi.
“I saw you’d turned off the red light, so I figured you wouldn’t mind the company,” he said, his voice low.
She leaned up and sighed when his lips brushed hers. She had no idea when she’d become the person who’d lean into a kiss as if it was a normal thing to have a man there every hour of every day, but again, she was just going to go with it. Levi didn’t live with her, but he did stay there most nights. The only nights he wasn’t there were the ones he had his girls. And neither he nor Faith was ready for her to stay over with his daughters in the house. It didn’t hurt her in the slightest to think that there was still distance between her and Levi’s
daughters since she was the one who needed the space to begin with. She was just happy that Levi understood her need for time.
“I’m just finishing up, and then I thought we could get something to eat.”
“Uh huh.”
“Levi? Are you paying attention?” she asked. Levi’s attention was on the photograph in her hand, rather than on her. She didn’t know whether to be flattered or to hide the print.
“That’s an utterly exquisite photo,” he whispered. “You caught the look in her eyes perfectly.”
“Did I?” she asked. The woman in the photo had that coy expression that said “bring it” at the same time. It was almost what Faith wanted, but there was still something missing.
“I think so, but you’re the professional.”
She sighed then set the photo down. “It doesn’t feel like it most days, but I’ll figure it out. Now, really, I want food.”
He snorted then led the way out of the dark room. “Then let me feed my woman.”
“My woman? Who are you, Hunter?”
“I’m not a wolf and not that possessive, though the idea of calling you my woman makes me hard, so maybe I’m more wolf-like than I thought.”
Considering she had to hold back a shiver when he said that, maybe she liked it a bit too much as well. Not that she’d tell him that. Let him suffer under her narrowed gaze for a bit longer.
He cupped her face, and she kept her expression stern. “You like it when I call you my woman,” he whispered.
“Shut up,” she muttered.
“Oh pixie darling—” Levi cut off his words then pulled her close. He growled, his chest rumbling under her ear. Her pulse picked up and she shut her mouth, trying to listen to what he might have heard.
Faith tried to pull away, wanting to know what the hell was going on.
“Shit. Something just slammed against the wards.” His eyes glowed with magic, and he had his head angled, as if trying to hear something she couldn’t.
“What? What do you mean?” Before she could figure out what was going on, her windows smashed in. Levi threw up his hand, a blue aura shimmering around his body. The glass turned to sand as it hit his aura, and Faith sucked in a breath. The glass would have killed them both if Levi hadn’t been able to shield them. As it was, his wards had been damn strong. Whatever had gone through them must have been stronger than she wanted to admit.
“Pixies,” Levi whispered. Faith’s head whipped around to meet his gaze.
“Pixies? Why would they be here?”
“I don’t know, but they aren’t here for tea.”
She reached down to her side for her blade, only to come up empty. Fuck. She’d forgotten to put one on since she hadn’t left the house yet, and she’d become lazy with Levi there. Holy hell. She had no way to defend herself, no way to defend Levi. She only had wings that she didn’t know how to use and a connection to a man she’d tried to run from. This wasn’t going to end well.
The sound of a train or a tornado coming right at them filled her ears, and she covered them, trying to not panic. Levi put his body over hers, and she felt her wings slide out of her skin, her tank top moving out of the way. Soon she’d learn to bypass that with magic, but now was not the time.
“Hold on to me. Whatever happens, hold on to me.”
The sound of fluttering wings reached her, but before she could do anything but meet Levi’s gaze, purple smoke covered her face, and she blacked out.
The last thought she had was of Levi and the fear on his face.
Oh, shit.
Chapter Thirteen
Levi kept conscious only through sheer will and strength. If he’d been of any other bloodline, he might have passed out like Faith had. He’d needed to keep awake in case they separated him and his mate. There was no way he’d let her out of his sight—not when he had no fucking clue why the pixies would want to kidnap both of them.
They both stood, or rather, Levi stood, with an unconscious Faith leaning on him with her feet brushing the ground. It wasn’t the best position, but he didn’t want to be sitting or crouched when the pixies attacked. He also didn’t want to let Faith go in case he needed to move her quickly.
It had to have taken at least forty pixies with powerful magic to break through his wards. Even then, he wasn’t sure how they’d done it. In fact, the magic tasted almost wizard in origin, which worried him more than he wanted to admit.
He pushed that to the back of his mind, focusing on the threat at hand rather than what might have been treachery. He stood up, his aura still pulsing around him. It wasn’t a good enough shield to protect them from everything, but hopefully, it would be enough to keep Faith safe until she woke up.
He couldn’t see anyone around them, the purple mist acting as a blind for whoever had set it up. He kept his senses alert but turned to Faith, who lay limp in his arms. Her wings had sprouted during the attack, her body taking on a glittering sheen that spoke of her heritage. She would have to learn to control that urge to shift in times of danger, but for now, he’d take her any way he could. She looked so pale in his arms, much like she had been when they first met. The mist had put her out cold, but he could feel her heartbeat against his chest.
He shook her and whispered her name in her ear, afraid to speak any louder. Just because he couldn’t see the pixies around them didn’t mean they weren’t there. They were shielded for a reason. In fact, he was sure that the mist had transported them somewhere else—most likely to the pixie realm. He needed Faith in her best shape to get them out of there safely.
Her eyes fluttered open, but he pressed his fingers to her lips. He shook his head, not wanting her to speak until they knew where they were.
She pulled from his grasp, shaking out her arms and wings. He wasn’t sure she even knew she was doing the latter, but at least she was acting instinctively for the moment. They’d need all the help they could get.
Instead of freaking out about where they were, she put her back to his, protecting his flank so he could do the same for her. God, he loved this woman. The shock of that thought slammed into him, but he forced himself to push it away and think about it later. He’d deal with the fact that he knew he’d never let his woman go, even if he’d been telling himself—and her—that he’d give her the option if that’s what she needed.
“Where are we?” Faith whispered, so low he was surprised he even heard her.
“Pixie realm, I think,” he whispered back. It didn’t matter at this point if the others heard them. They were probably listening and watching them the entire time. The pixies would be able to see through the dark mist since they were the ones that had created it. Faith would have to learn that handy trick.
Just one more thing to add to the list.
First, though, they’d have to survive.
The mist began to fade, and he reached around to grip Faith’s hand. She didn’t have a weapon, and he needed only one hand to do most of his magic, but he released her after a squeeze, knowing they needed every advantage they could get—even if they didn’t have one to begin with.
The purple haze faded completely, and Levi wanted to groan. Of course it couldn’t have been the sweet—if tenacious—pixies who only wanted to play tricks and giggle that had kidnapped them. No, these were ones that clearly had to be part of the inner circle of the crown.
Pixies in their paranormal form were the same size as humans. Their bodies glittered in varying shades depended on which clan they came from. Faith’s skin was naturally pale, so her skin glittered like diamonds on cream while some of the other pixies were more like gemstones or diamonds on caramel and chocolate. They were truly beautiful and terrifying. Many of them had chopped off their hair into bobs or pulled up in ponytails to keep it out of their face—easier to fight in, he supposed. Their wings resembled butterfly wings like Faith’s rather than angel wings like Shade and Ambrose. Only a few of them had garnet or ruby coloring at the moment, their anger so potent he could practically taste it. Othe
rs had lighter shades of pink and purple, their moods more annoyed than truly angry. The ones with blue or white wings scared him more though considering he couldn’t tell what they were feeling. They didn’t care they were there to begin with, or they were true sociopaths that felt nothing and were ready to kill in an instant.
Not something he wanted to fight.
Each of the men and women surrounding them was covered in leather and chains. Skin peeked out here and there to entice, but they weren’t succubi who used sex to get what they wanted and to survive. These wore the clothing of their people to show their status in society. Each held blades, apparently ready to fight and kill.
Fuck, he didn’t want to deal with this. If he used his magic to get out of this, he might start a war between their peoples. He wasn’t just a normal wizard. He was the wizard prince and their Conclave member. If he acted rashly, he would be speaking for his entire people, not just his need to survive and protect his mate.
The ones in front of him weren’t the pixie queen or her family members, Levi knew. They didn’t wear the insignia of her people that each wore to designate their claim to the throne, but considering what they wore, he had a feeling they were close enough to the crown to worry him.
“We’re taking you to the queen, filthy half-breed,” the woman closest to them spat. From the way the others looked to her for guidance, he had a feeling she was the one in charge—at least of their merry little group.
Faith cursed behind him, and he wanted to scream. These pixies were seriously about to start a war or at least make things very difficult for their realm because they were bigoted little bastards.
“You have no right to take us from our home,” Levi said, his voice smooth. He was the logical one, the one brought to the fight to talk the opponent out of killing. He was also powerful enough to make those who refused to listen to reason regret it.
“We have every right. Now shut the fuck up while we take you to our queen.” The woman lashed out with her whip and struck Levi in the face. He didn’t flinch, but he felt the warm trickle of blood flow down his face. Only the tip had cut into his flesh, and he knew it was more of a warning than anything else, but he vowed it would be the last time the bitch hurt him.
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